I’ve been asked this question many times.
One of the ways I’ve answered is with my own question: If you could invest 20 cents to get a dollar, would you? If you could invest 50 cents to get a dollar, would you?
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Philanthropy, Not Fundraising
The pyramids were built in Egypt. On the backs of slaves. It took a very, very long time. The cost, in human terms, was untenable and unsustainable.
That’s why you don’t see many pyramids being built these days.
Except in nonprofits.
Where building the donor pyramid is still the holy grail. Get ‘em in. Move ‘em up. Acquire through direct mail. Convert to monthly donor or sustainer. Acquire through events. Convert to mail. Up, up, up…. to the pinnacle of major and planned gifts!
Except for one tiny thing.
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Philanthropy, Not Fundraising
More than ever before nonprofit leaders must lead from vision, not mission. Why? The world is moving really, really fast. Blame it on the digital revolution if you wish. But why waste time laying blame? It is what it is. Instead, get into the 21st century. Now.
The present (what you’re doing) is nothing more than a springboard to the future (the change you’re endeavoring to bring about). That’s what folks want to invest in. Positive change.
Nonprofits have tended to forget their visions in order to justify continued existence. Sometimes founders and other leaders become too wedded to the status quo. They can’t let their babies grow up.
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Philanthropy, Not Fundraising
I’m about to reveal my Old MacDonald’s Theory of the qualities of outstanding fundraisers (you know how they say “the farmer is *out standing* in his field”)? Ahem. Well… the outstanding farmer is surrounded by a chorus of E-I-E-I-Os. The outstanding fundraiser is similar in many ways. S/he sings a similar tune and also works in a nurturing, productive space that enables cultivation and growth.
And that’s why I developed my E-I-E-I-O paradigm. Forget about all the nasty business of “it’s a jungle out there.” No, YOU (the fundraiser) work on a farm.
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It’s the new plague. And a highly contagious epidemic, from which no one is immune.
Are you showing any symptoms? I feel like:
If you checked off three or more, you’ve got the disease. 8 or more and we need to rush you to an unplugged vacation. All of the above and you need a sabbatical!
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Philanthropy, Not Fundraising
“Incremental Change is Not an Option.”
What if this was your charity’s mantra? This is so different than “We keep overhead super low.” The first means dreaming on a large scale, and reaching for true solutions to social problems. The latter, not so much.
For years donors have been taught to look for low overhead as a sign of effectiveness. When you stop to think about it, it makes little common sense. Who cares if you spend only 5 cents on the dollar if you only net $71 from your bake sale? Will this solve your problem? Whatever resources are needed to solve the problem, those are the resources that must be spent. Nothing more. Nothing less.
DetailsOctober 15th marks the one-year anniversary of the community based Occupy movement. Since philanthropy is about creating a caring community, I’m taking a quick break from my current series of posts about boards and fundraising to remind us what we need to do to fully occupy philanthropy and connect with our best donor prospects as…
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Why don’t I feel serenity? Do you feel successful? Think a minute about what you and/or your organization do. Does it feel like enough? Too much? Does it make you and/or others happy? Fulfilled? Do you feel successful (or not) based on what other people say and do? Based on how much money you make…
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Here comes this month’s *SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you). The next time you have the urge to utter “I don’t have time for this,” stifle it. Usually the things we think we don’t have time for are precisely the things we should most be doing. Like taking some time off. …
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If we solve the wrong problem, then who cares? In Part I we talked about taking a positive attitude towards the endeavor of solving problems: (1) clarifying that problems aren’t ‘bad’ and there’s no one right way to solve them; (2) people can have different perceptions of the same issue; (3) problems are often in…
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